Guangxi Provincial Hospital sends twelth ophthalmology medical team to Cambodia, 2018-2019 program

Between May 2018 and December 2019, the Health Commission of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region organized the deployment of 12 Chinese ophthalmology medical teams to Cambodia under the Kampong Cham Province Cataract Blindness Elimination Action Project, part of the broader “Belt and Road” Cataract Blindness Elimination Campaign.

Nearly 60 ophthalmology professionals were sent from Guangxi’s major hospitals, treating more than 6,200 cataract patients across the 18-month program. Team Deployments: 1st team: Guangxi Ophthalmology Center — Deployed to Kampong Cham (May 8, 2018 – June 2018).

Completed 441 cataract surgeries. 2nd team: Guangxi Ophthalmology Center — Deployed to Banteay Srei Provincial Hospital (September 1, 2018 – October 2018).

Six-person team. 3rd team: Guangxi Ophthalmology Center — Deployed to Banteay Meanchey Province (November 25, 2018 – December 2018).

Six-person team. 4th team: First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University — Deployed to Kampong Cham (March 2019 – April 22, 2019). Six-person team. 5th team: Guangxi Provincial Hospital — Deployed to Kampong Cham (April 17, 2019 – May 2019). Six-person team. 6th team: Liuzhou Red Cross Hospital — Deployed to Kampong Cham (May 2019 – June 2019).

Six-person team. 7th team: Guilin Second People’s Hospital — Deployed to Kampong Cham (late June 2019 – July 2019). Six-person team. 8th team: Nanxishan Hospital — Deployed to Kampong Cham (July 11, 2019 – August 17, 2019).

Six-person team. 9th team: Guangxi Ophthalmology Center — Deployed to Kampong Cham (August 19, 2019 – September 12, 2019).

Completed 692 cataract surgeries. 10th team: Guangxi Provincial Hospital — Deployed to Kampong Cham (September 16, 2019 – October 2019).

Six-person team. 11th team: Yulin City First People’s Hospital — Deployed to Kampong Cham (October 2019 – November 2019). Six-person team. 12th team: Guangxi Provincial Hospital — Deployed to Kampong Cham (late 2019, exact dates unknown). Activities included vision exams and school-based myopia prevention.

Across all 12 deployments, Guangxi’s medical teams performed thousands of free cataract surgeries, restored sight to thousands of Cambodian patients, and provided screening and preventive eye care services.

The initiative was jointly organized by the Belt and Road International Cooperation Hong Kong Centre, the Hong Kong Asian Foundation for the Prevention of Blindness, and the Cambodian Ministry of Health, with additional support from Hong Kong NGOs and associations that donated surgical vehicles and ambulances.